Uncommon Ground
by Skyler Sage
Summary: Alicia Spinnet is used to other students asking her for advice; she's always ready to help. So what happens when she finds skirt-chaser and self-proclaimed "Sex God of Slytherin", Terence Higgs, passed out from one drink too many? RR


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Gaaaah! It's been so long since I've written anything! ;_; Well, even though I hardly did any writing this summer, I've got loads of plot bunnies gnawing holes in my brain that must be exorcized and driven onto paper! (Or in this case, a screen. XD) This is a one-shot with a Gryffindor/Slytherin ship that has a rather special place in my heart. Expect to see more from these kiddies soon! I'm in the process of writing a longer fic featuring Ter and Ali called "Born To Try". If you like this, I hope you'll come back when BTT comes out! So enjoy, and please let me know what you think! There's no way I can improve if you don't!

Disclaimer_: I no own Harry Potter. You should know this by now, you silly fluffinutter. I am merely having too much fun with J.K.'s characters. XD Nya ha ha ha!!_

*~* Uncommon Ground *~* 

  
  
Oh, the things she got herself into.   
  
She had been out… sure, it was after hours, but she always went to the kitchens when she just needed some time to herself.  
  
And she had been perfectly willing to slip down, unnoticed, not minding anyone's business.  
  
Why did things have a way of getting her involved anyways?  
  
"Anyone coming, Perni?"  
  
A small head with long, rabbit-like ears poked its head around the corner before walking farther out, the moonlight from the windows revealing a sleek feline body and a long tail with a handsome tuff at the end. The creature glanced about in all directions before he turned around to face the way he had come and give a 'chirrup' sound.  
  
Alicia Spinnet took a quick look around the corner, just to make sure. Then she turned back. "Come on, Higgs. The kitchens are right down here."  
  
"I told you, I don't need some bloody Gryffindork's help..."  
  
With an exasperated sigh, Alicia half dragged the young man she was talking to after her, one arm trying to keep him upright and balanced. "Look, Higgs, we're both going to be in a world of trouble if we don't get into those kitchens NOW. Filch could be this way any minute, and you are going to be in far worse trouble than I am being that _you_ are drunk and I am not. Now move!"  
  
Reluctantly, Terence Higgs stumbled after her with what felt like a volcano erupting between his temples. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been the brightest idea to get pissed so far away from the Slytherin Common Room...but this was just plain humiliating! To be found nearly passed out in the hallway...by a Gryffindor no less! Some deity certainly had a lousy sense of humor.  
  
"Perni, be a dear and open the portrait, will you?"  
  
Pernix the kneazle darted ahead, skidding to a halt in from of a large painting of a bowl of fruit. Nimbly, he leapt up and dug his claws into the frame just enough to hang on and whisked his tail up towards the pear hiding next to the oranges and grapes. The brush tickled the fruit, and with a giggle, the painting swung open and Pernix dropped back to the ground.  
  
"Thanks Perni. You can't come in the kitchens...so you know where to go. Warn me if someone besides Filch comes snooping about, alright?"  
  
Pernix gave a worried chirp, eying Terence suspiciously.  
  
A small smile tugged Alicia's lips. "Don't worry. If I can keep two crazy twins from getting themselves killed by a certain captain of mine, I think I can manage one bloke.  
  
Without warning, the arms of the young man she was trying to help wrapped themselves around her waist and she found that his face was suddenly very close. "Oh, I'm far too much for any one girl to handle, love."  
  
A sharp jerk and an elbow to the ribs made Terence quickly realize his mistake...along with the fact that there was worse things to having a god-awful headache, and that was having his stomach turn rather violently and the feeling that he was going to be sick.  
  
Smirking at the look that crossed the human man's face, Pernix gave a nod. He knew his mistress would be able to take care of herself. He bounced off towards the wall and with a few familiar leaps, he was well-hidden amongst the numerous nooks and crannies of stones and carvings above.  
  
Swallowing down the bile that threatened, Terence glared at Alicia as she dragged him through hole in the wall and dumped him unceremoniously on the floor next to a fire place. "What the hell did you do THAT for, Spinnet?"  
  
"Think about it," Alicia snapped.   
  
"Um, Miss?"  
  
Blinking, the Gryffindor seventh year looked down and saw a rather startled female house elf looking up at her. Sighing, she shoved her unruly hair away from her face. "Sorry Liddy. I wasn't expecting to bring anyone along with me tonight."  
  
The elf nodded. "Miss's friends did not mention any party...."  
  
"Oh, _he's_ not a friend," Alicia informed her, jerking her head towards Terence, who was slouched and mumbling to himself, not listening to word she said. "But if you could get him 'the drink', I'd really appreciate it."  
  
"Of course, Miss. And what would Miss like?"  
  
"The usual, please."  
  
"Right away, Miss." And Liddy scuttled off.  
  
Alicia turned to see her 'companion' was still mumbling...or perhaps grumbling...to himself. "Look, Higgs, if you're going to talk aloud, do it proper, will you?"  
  
She earned another healthy glare from him. "You're awfully cruel to a man who is trying to drown his sorrows...especially for a Gryffindor..."  
  
"Drowning your sorrows is pointless and a coward's way of hiding from his problems. I have no sympathy for it whatsoever."  
  
"Touching."  
  
"So what are you so miserable about in the first place?"  
  
Terence moped, and even Alicia had to admit...he had the sorrowful puppy look down pat. Especially with those sweet dark eyes of his...  
  
"My girls...my lovely, wonderful girls..."  
  
_'Scratch that,'_ Alicia thought with a roll of the eyes. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.  
  
"My girls...one by one...they're leaving me..."  
  
"Oh, sod it!! You have HOW many girls at Hogwarts prancing after you? So what if you lose a few? I say good for them....and for you. It might teach you a thing or two."  
  
Terence sighed, the sound saying 'You don't understand.' "My dear, Ali, you simply don't--"  
  
"Alicia."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"If you're going to drop the last name basis, stick to my full name. Only my friends can call me 'Ali'."  
  
"Well, excuuuuuse me..." he mumbled...and then forgot what he was going to say. Miffed, he looked around the bustling kitchen. "Got anything to drink around here? Preferably something with a high alcohol content..."  
  
"Even better..." Alicia said, as Liddy returned bearing a tray with two goblets on it. The elf pointed to one with green gemstones on it with a tiny, spindly finger. "That be his, Miss. 'Tis has the potion in it."  
  
"Thanks Liddy." She took the two goblets, hers with red gemstones, and handed Terence his. The house elf scampered off with a bow.  
  
Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, Terence accepted the goblet, but looked at it dubiously. "What did she mean...potion?"  
  
"Sobriety Potion. It'll help with your headache too."  
  
Still wary, he took a sip...and then his eyes blinked wide. "Orange juice??"  
  
Alicia hopped up onto a stool across from him, folding her legs underneath her Indian style. "Don't ask. It's the only thing that helps to disguise the potion without diluting the effects."  
  
He cast her an odd look and took another sip...and he began to feel the pain ebb away and his head clear. Tilting his head back, he downed the rest of the juice and sighed with relief as the last effects of his earlier drinks faded and finally disappeared. He inspected his now empty goblet before looking back up at Alicia. "House elves just happen to have this stuff handy...?"  
  
"Nope," she responded, taking a sip from her own drink. "I asked them to keep it here for me. You'd be surprised how many students like to hit the bottle..."  
  
"But why do YOU have it?"  
  
She shrugged. "'Cause no one else has bothered. All of the other potions and spells don't work as well...and they sometimes leave detectable side-effects, which will occasionally get them caught. This one works wonders...or so I've been told."  
  
"That it does," he admitted appreciatively. "So...you've never tried it then?"  
  
"Don't drink."  
  
"Give up the good-goody Gryffindork routine. I have reliable sources, including my own eyes, that know that even the Hogwarts Do-gooders sometimes stash their own supply up in their dorms."  
  
"No denying that," Alicia admitted, grimacing at the memory of having to use the Sobriety Potion on several friends. "I'm saying that *I* don't. Alcohol and my family don't mix."  
  
"Drinking problems?"  
  
"Not exactly. An occasional glass of wine at special occasions is alright...but most of us just get sick if we have too much."  
  
"So that in your hand..."  
  
Alicia held up her goblet and grinned. "Orange juice and seltzer. It's a fave of mine."  
  
Lapsing into silence, the two merely stared off into the distance, the constant sounds off elves squeaking to each other, fires roaring, and plates and platters clanking against one another helped to fill the space between them. After a while Terence looked back at the young woman perched on top of the stool. She was certainly different from the girls he usually dealt with. Good head on her shoulders really...took up the jobs no one else wanted to take responsibility for...although it was beyond him as to why she would do such a thing. Why go through all the trouble of helping a person one barely knows? Without thinking, he found himself asking aloud, "Why?"  
  
Alicia blinked herself out of the reverie she had fallen in. "Sorry?"  
  
_'Think fast, Higgs...'_ "Why...did you help me?" He felt like a fool as the words slipped out before he could stop them.  
  
"Well, I wasn't just going to leave you lying there for Filch or a Prefect to catch you. Although I still think that a depletion in your harem is a silly reason to get sloshed..."  
  
"_Must_ you use such a harsh term?"  
  
"Oh? How do you refer to them, then?"  
  
"I like to say...they are my flock, and I, their shepherd who leads them to sweeter pastures." He flashed her a proud grin, as though he were saying 'See how clever I am?'  
  
Snort. "You would...did it ever occur to you that sometimes not everyone takes pleasure in those 'sweeter pastures'?"  
  
Terence blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means," Alicia explained with a sigh, "do you realize how many of your so called 'flock' have come crying to me, begging me to explain why you act the way you do and why-o-why can they not find a descent bloke to fall in love with? For goodness sake, I've got SLYTHERINS asking me for advice!!"  
  
There was a short pause, and then: "YOU!!"  
  
Alicia jumped. "What??"  
  
"You're the one who's been making my girls leave me!!"  
  
Realization dawning on her, a slow, amused smirk spread across her lips. "Why, yes...I did tell them that if they wanted a solid and truer relationship, they should seek other gentlemen...I never said directly that they should LEAVE you."  
  
"But INdirectly, you did!" Terence's sulk worsened as he slumped against the wall.  
  
"Oh, cheer up. They want a RELATIONSHIP...not a nightly shag."  
  
"What's wrong with shagging? No attachments, nothing owed, and pleasure for all. Where's the problem?"  
  
"The point is completely lost on you, isn't it?"  
  
"I just don't get it! Why must women demand so much from a bloke?"  
  
"Oh, so it's okay for you to have several partners, but it's not okay for a girl to want some attention from one guy?"  
  
Terence opened his mouth to say "Exactly!" But the word died on his tongue. He stared at her...and then returned to sulking. "I suppose you've got a point...although I _still_ say it's too much to ask of a man like me."  
  
Alicia chose not to comment on his claim of being a 'man'. Instead, she tried to push her view point a little further. "But wouldn't you like going through life knowing that in this world, there's someone completely loyal and devoted to you?"  
  
"Loyalty isn't what you would call a Slytherin trait. It's also a foolish ideal that gets more people killed when they stick their neck out for someone else."  
  
"And if it was you who was in danger?"  
  
Terence's eyes narrowed. Was there no beating this girl? She had a point for everything he said. None of his girls ever did that...they practically accepted his word as law...accept for the few who had gone running to this daft Gryffindor. And yet...and yet he found it...interesting. Yes, interesting: it was dull when the girls only nodded their heads, agreeing with him completely. Alicia wasn't going to roll over and nod her head...she was going support her own opinions...and surprisingly, she wasn't like most of her house, trying to shove their bloody ideals down others' throats. She just...made him think.  
  
And the last time he had done THAT was...  
  
Better not answer that question.  
  
Still, he had his pride, and it would not let him admit defeat. So he did what one always does when about to lose a verbal battle: he altered the focus. "Do you always give advice to everyone you meet?"  
  
She paused. "I just worry about people...so I try to help out, that's all."  
  
_'Well, I wasn't just going to leave you lying there for Filch or a Prefect to catch you.'_ "I pity your boyfriend: he must get an earful from you unless he's damn near perfect."  
  
"Well, save your pity for something else, 'cause I don't have one."   
  
Terence tilted his head, accenting his confused expression. "Why's that?"  
  
Alicia shrugged. "Well, for starters, I'm a girl who plays Quidditch..."  
  
"That's never stopped your two friends. As I recall, Johnson has a thing for...one of those miserable redheads..."  
  
Grinning, Alicia informed him that, "It's Fred."  
  
"Fred, George, Alfonzo...same difference. All that matters is that they're one of the numerous Weasleys. And Bell...she's with el capitán of Gryffindor, is she not?"  
  
"Yeah, Katie and Oliver always had eyes for each other since..." She trailed off and stared at Terence. Then, slowly, she asked, "How...did you know...about Katie and Angie?"  
  
"Well, one shepherd does not wish to steal needlessly from another's flock. It could turn ugly very quickly."  
  
"Again with the sheep analogy..." Alicia muttered, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, you need to watch your view of women: one of these days, you're going to find yourself with a _wolf_ in sheep's clothing."  
  
"I'll take my chances, thanks," Terence said confidently. "Besides...nothing wrong having a wild one once in a while to liven things up..."  
  
Alicia glared.  
  
Smiling cheekily, Terence continued, undaunted by her look. "Now you...I've seen you WITH the male populace...but never going solo. Unless you're getting cozy in the locker rooms where I can't know..."  
  
"Rest assured, that is NOT the case." Her voice was hard, but she couldn't stop the blush that crept along her cheeks.  
  
He noticed the blush, but somehow managed to keep his grin from showing that. "So...no one in Hogwarts then. What about during the summer, away from school? Have someone waiting for you back home?"  
  
"I spend all my time with my family...so I don't even know if there ARE any blokes around there."  
  
"Aaaah...protective parents?"  
  
"Worse: older brother."  
  
Terence winced. "The bane of many a man's existence...surviving the older brother."  
  
To her surprise, Alicia found herself laughing. "Oh, he's not that bad really...but he also has his own wife and kid to look after, so he can't put as much time and effort into keeping his dear baby sister 'safe' as he would like."  
  
"Sounds...nice, actually," Ter found himself saying absently. He found himself distracted by a single thought echoing in his brain: she looked rather pretty when she laughed.   
  
"Yeah..." she quietly agreed. "I'm kinda jealous...in a way."  
  
_That_ got Terence's attention. "Oh?"  
  
Alicia drained the last of her juice, and the Slytherin lad couldn't help noticing the way she licked her lips afterwards. She looked away before saying thoughtfully, "What my brother has...the relationship with his wife and son...it seems so perfect. How can someone hope to have anything as great as what they have?"  
  
She didn't say "someone like me"...but Terence read the meaning quite well in her words. There was no bitterness...just a hopeless acceptance, as though she had already given up on her chances. But he was confused as to why. She wasn't as beautiful as some girls...but she certainly was far from hideous. Especially when she smiled; the slight dimples and the shy, but comforting smile framed by mused brown locks held it's own charm that he found himself (dare he say it?) rather attracted to. Plus she had something he wasn't used to...something she was filled with and seemed to share with others without even thinking about it.  
  
It was warmth.  
  
"You shouldn't say that. I'm sure someone...somewhere...will figure it out like your brother did. Especially someone who knows him so well."  
  
Dark chocolate eyes met with sweet milk chocolate, and there was no mistaking the look of gratitude.  
  
Another thing he wasn't used to.  
  
"If you'd stop looking after other people's problems and worried about yourself a bit more," he added, glancing away as a subtle blush colored his cheeks.  
  
"Nope: no can do," Alicia quipped cheerfully, surprising Terence. "Believe it or not, helping out others comes with its benefits."  
  
Raising his brow, Terence asked, "Such as...?"  
  
"Such as having grateful Prefects fill me in on handy tidbits of information...like Filch walking by the kitchens any minute now to head in the opposite direction of both our dorms." Slipping easily off the stool, Alicia placed her empty goblet on the tray held out by Liddy, who had snuck in without Terence even noticing. Getting to his feet, he did the same and followed her to where she stopped against the back of the portrait door, her ear pressed against it. He cocked his head to listen better as well...and sure enough, he heard the heavy footsteps and creaking of the old lantern the Hogwarts Caretaker was never without on his evening patrols.   
  
There was a questioning "Meow?" right outside the door, and both teens heard Filch say, (in what would be an affectionate voice for him,) "Don't worry, my sweet. We'll find out who was drinking Firewhisky upstairs...and oh, we shall have _fun_ deciding an appropriate punishment."  
  
Terence felt the blood drain from his face as the harsh cackles receded down the hall. There was a tug on his sleeve, and felt somewhat more relieved to see Alicia's smile. "I won't tell if you won't," she whispered.  
  
"It's a deal," he agreed quickly.  
  
Hiding her amusement, Alicia listened once more for any indication of someone being outside. "I think the coast is clear."  
  
Opening the portrait slightly and poking his head outside, he nodded. "No one in sight."  
  
Alicia turned back to wave goodbye to the house elves, who had gathered behind them to give their farewells...and a few extra cookies...to them.  
  
"So...now that my flock is deciding to abandon me," Terence said with a dramatic sigh as he held the portrait open and waited for Alicia to follow, "I suppose I shalt need a LOT of advice for what to do with my spare time. Think you can squeeze me into your hectic schedule."  
  
Alicia made a face as he let the door swing silently shut and Pernix slipped from his hiding place in the rafters to reclaim his favorite post on her shoulders . "You make me sound like a therapist..."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Muggle term. Never mind..."  
  
"So is that a yes or a no?" He had meant to say it as he usually did, suave and cool, as if it didn't really bother _him_ if she said no, but she'd be a fool to do so. To his surprise and partial embarrassment, it came out differently...even he could hear the hope in his voice.  
  
She stared at him for a few moments, her face blank and unrevealing as to whether she had heard it as well. Then a slow smile began to spread across her lips. He…wasn't so bad really. She had always assumed that someone who…acted the way that he did with so many women would be real bastard. But she saw the hope in his eyes, not in his voice, and had to practically glue her hands to her sides to keep one from brushing the stray ebony bangs that were trying mar his vision. "I suppose I can give you a hand. Merlin knows, you're going to need it..."  
  
"Thank you EVER so much..." he growled, but he found himself smiling as she chuckled. "Hmmm...since I need to be relaxed and in a neutral atmosphere where I can absorb the full extent of your great knowledge and sound advice...why don't we meet at the Three Broomsticks on Saturday? It's a Hogsmeade weekend...unless you had something else planned of course."  
  
"Not that I know of...so one o'clock sound alright?"  
  
Ter nodded, turning to head off towards his own dormitories. "Sounds just fine. I'll see you then. G'night Ali."  
  
"Night Ter," she called after him, before she and Pernix slipped back to Gryffindor Tower, only the portraits and the house elves the wiser.  


*~* Fin *~* 


End file.
